Week ending 24 August 2019: Gary Bartz and the Komeda Quintet

There were only five tunes played on the show this week – but all were exceptional. Here on Cosmic Jazz we can play tracks of any length – and so we did on this occasion. Click the Mixcloud tab for an hour of delight.

The first track was a comparatively short one. I have been wanting to play The Elder Statesman again – twin brothers and Wellington, NZ fixtures Christopher (piano) and Daniel (double bass) Yeabsley with producer Lord Echo on percussion and drums. One side of the 7″ single was on the show a few weeks back and the other one – Trans-Alpine Express – featured this week. We love this record. Check out Lord Echo’s own releases including the excellent Harmonies album from 2017 which features vocalist Mara TK on a number of tracks.

Saxophonist Gary Bartz had to feature after receiving a most enthusiastic report from one of my sons regarding his performance at Gilles Peterson’s inaugural We Out Here festival, held near Cambridge, UK. Bartz wasbacked apparently by Cosmic Jazz favourites Maisha – and apparently playing after just one rehearsal. Sounds amazing. The record chosen this week has a much younger-looking Gary Bartz as leader of his Ntu Troop at the Montreux Jazz festival in July 1973. The stories tell that it was a blistering uninterrupted 80-minute set of conscious, Afrocentric and spiritual music with Hubert Eaves on piano, Stafford James on bass and Howard King on drums. Forty-six years later it sounds as if he can still deliver to similar effect.

Last week the show included music that paid tribute to the legendary Polish pianist and composer Krzysztof Komeda. This week it was a long 23.08 minutes of music directly from the Komeda Quintet and their 1965 album Astigmatic. This has been described as one of the very best jazz albums made in Europe. It also marked a move away from an American sound to a distinctly European one and thus became an inspiration for future European musicians. The Quintet included Tomasz Stanko on trumpet who went on to gain international fame in his own right. The music is complex and deep and it is easy to see why it has inspired particularly so many Polish jazz musicians, but also musicians from other countries, to this day.

One of the musicians from outside Poland who pays respect to Komeda is Edward Cawthorne (aka Tenderlonious) whose band Ruby Rushton include a Komeda tune on their latest album Ironside. It’s dedicated as a requiem to Komeda and is indeed a worthy tribute. We really like this new record here on Cosmic Jazz and will continue to play more music from it in coming weeks – hence the inclusion of Lara’s Theme (alternate take) on this week’s show.

We are currently celebrating 80 years of Blue Note Records here on Cosmic Jazz. We may think of Blue Note as something of a heritage label, but in the hands of new boss Don Was it’s a thriving and ever more contemporary concern. There’s an ambitious re-release programme (including the excellent audiophile vinyl reissues through the Tone Poet series) but Blue Note continues to sign new artists making waves in contemporary jazz. One such is trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire – an artist who favours long album and song titles. Confessions to my Unborn Daughter is from his 2011 album When the Heart Emerges Glistening – see what we mean! – and this was the final track in this week’s show.

The Elder Statesman – Trans-Alpine Express from 7″ single/download

Gary Bartz Ntu Troop – Jujuman from I’ve Known Rivers and Other Bodies